Conductor-clamp



S. S. MATTHES.

CONDUCTOR CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1921.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. MATTHES, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO,'ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSE CONDUCTOR-CLAMP.

Application filed April 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. MA'I'IHES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conductor-Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trolley wire supports and more particularly to that class of support adapted to grip the conductor and 88%118 the conductor to an overhead support. can e attached to and detached from a conduetor; which can be attached to and detached from an overhead support; which can be attached to or detached from the conductor and support simultaneously and by a single operation; and a clamp whichpermits the clamping members to be alined with the conductor.

My invention resides in the construction, combination and relation of the various parts as more fully set forthin the description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention shown secured to a conductor and han r.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

ig. 3 is a sectional view of my device taken on a line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and represents my device as attached to the lower end of a hanger stud and with a wire between the jaws. In this condition, all parts are in a relaxed position and ready to be secured permanently to the hanger and conductor.

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view as in Fig. 3 but in which the clamp has been finally secured to the conductor and hanger.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showing the parts to be round and permitting a relative rotation.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 66 of Fig. 4 and shows the interlock between the parts to prevent relative rotation.

In my preferred form I make use of two clamping members 1l provided at the lower edge with means 2 to grip a conductor C and having at the upper end flanges 3 forming, when two of the jaws are placed face to face, a cavity having tapered inner Walls and an internal flange or bead 4. Intermediate the upper and lower edges is an inwardly projecting flange 5. and an outwardly .proj ectingflan' e 6.

" We .9 ea

Specification of Letters Patent.

device has for its object a clamp which Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 458,974.

H or support, I provide a supporting member 7. provided at its lower end with a conical shaped enlargement 8 which engages with the bead 4 on the clamping members when the device is firmly secured to a hanger and conductor, and which is free to rest upon the flange 5 when the parts are in a relaxed state. The upper end of the supporting member is provided internally with a threaded means 9 to engage the hanger stud 10 and provided externally with a plurality of faces 11.

Inclosing the clamping members 11 is a collar 12 provided with a recess 13 formed by casting the lips 14 downward or open as shown by the dotted lines and then rolling or bending, it into place to form the recess 13 and inclose and engage the flange 6 on the clamping members and hold them in rotatable engagement with the collar 12. At the upper end of the collar is an inwardly projecting flan e 15.

Surroun ing the supporting member 7- at its upper end is a nut 16 having a plurality of external faces 17 for the application of a wrench and a plurality of internal faces 18 corresponding to the faces 11 on the supporting member. At the lower end of the nut is an outwardly projecting. flange 19 which engages with the flange 15 tohold the nut 16 in place. The relation of the nut to the supporting member is such that the nut is free to move longitudinally of the supporting member and rotate in unison therewith and the upper face of the nut will always project above the upper face of the supporting memher, when installed to a hanger; otherwise the parts will not function to properly engage the hanger and conductor if the supporting member 7 engages'the hanger H.

In assembling the parts of my device the nut is first placed in position in the collar.

The supporting member is then placed in position between a pair of clamping members and the supporting and clamping members placed in position in the collar and nut with the flange 6 within the open recess 13. The lip or rim 14 is now rolled or pressed into place as shown, thereby locking the parts together against disassembly.

here are a number of ways in which my device may be installed upon a hanger and in engagement with a conductor but one way described will be suflicient to illustrate the operation.

The supportingmember 7isfirst. attached parts '12 and-1.6 upward slightly. The

clamping members 1-1 being free to rotate, they are brought into alinement with a the conductor. The clamping members are now opened at their lower edge sufiiciently to receive the conductor and are then held by and in engagement with the conductor and the parts 12 and 16 allowed to'drop back into normal position. The member :16 is now rotated by hand or by means of a wrench which rotates the member 7 also and.

causes it to rise upon the stud 10, thereby drawing the whole combination upward and until the member 16 engages the face of the hanger. If now the rotation is continued a by means of a wrench, the member 7 will I v p n n T exterior thereof to retam them in operatlve continue to rise and the engagement of the tapered member 3 with the flange 4 will cause the members 1-1 to fulcrum or pivot about the flange 6 and the parts 2-2 of the clamping member will be moved into strong and secure engagement with the conductor.

It is to be noted that each of the parts as shown is relatively rotatable to each of the other parts with the exception of the nut 16 and supporting member 7 which rotate together, and move longitudinally relatively to each other, This relative rotation, however, is not necessary between the parts '12 and 1-1and these parts may rotate to-, gether so long as there: is a hinging action between them.

I do not wish tobe limited to theform of construction specifically described skilled in the art and which ar e'withi nthe scope of my invention asset forthin the following claims 1. A device for supporting conductors 7 comprising a pair of clamping members provi'ded with means forming'a recess, a rota-' table supporting member mounted in the recess and provided with means engag ngthe clamping members to move the clamping members into engagement with the conductor, a holding member engaging the clamping members to retain them in operative position, means on the clamping members en-' gaging means on the holding member to.

prevent relative longitudinal movement of the clamping and holding members but permuting a hlnging' action of these parts,

' means movable longitudinally'of the supporting member ,to rotate the-j supporting member andmeans on the supporting memher to engage ahanger;

table supporting memberlmounted in the reand shown as there are many modifications "which will readilysuggest themselves to one I 2- 'A d v j fo supporting on c rs, 'comp l mg' p i mping m mberspr ,vlded' wlth means formmg a recess, a rota members into engagement with the conduc-' 'tor, a holding member engaging thepclampber for rotating the supporting member and having. a limited longitudinal movement therewith and means on the supporting member to engage a hanger.

3. A device for supporting conductors comprising a pair of clamping members provided with means forming a'recess, a rotatable supporting member mounted in the recess and engaging the clampingimembers and having 'a longitudinal movement theretoto move the clamping members into engagement with the conductor, a holding member engaging the clamping members position and permitting a" hingin'g action therewith, means for rotating the supporting member and having a' longitudinal movement therewith and means in the supporting means; to engage ahanger.

4a A device for supporting conductors comprising a pair of clamping members protable supporting member moun'tedinthe recess and engaglng the clamping members to move the clamping members mtoengage- "ment with theconductor, aholding member engaging the clamping members and permitting a hin'ging 1 action therewith, Fr'otating means engaging the supporting member to rotate the same and having means engaging means on theholding'member to lock the holding member and the rotating means in rotativerelation and means on "theisupportingmember to engage a hanger,

5. A device for gsu'spendin conductors comprising a pair of'T'clamp'mg members provided withjmeansfforming a recess, arotatable supporting member mounted inthe recess and engaging the clamping members to move the clamping members into engage ment with the conductor, a holding member engaging the clampingxmembers to hold the clamping members ina clamping position and having a hinging action therewith, rotating means engaging the supporting member torotate the sameand having 'means engaging means on the holding memberto limit the longitudinal movement of the hold ing member and rotating'means but permitting relative rotation of the holding memvided with means forming a recess, a rota- V her and rotating means and means on the supporting member to engage a hanger.

j 6. A device for supporting conductors comprising clamping means to receive and clamp a conductor provided with means forming a recess at their upper 'end,*a 'holding member for maintaining the clamping means inoperative position and having means to engage means on the clamping nern ttixgg flinging, action "th between, a supporting member rotatively and having means to interlock with means and longitudinally engaging the clamping on the supporting means to rotate in unison 10 means and having means to engage means and having means to interlock with the on the clamping means to move the clampmeans on the holding means to permit relaing means into engagement with the contive rotation of the holding and rotating ductor and also provided with means to semeans.

cure the combination to a hanger and rotat- In testimony whereof I affix my si nature. 5 ing means mounted on the supporting means SAMUEL S. MATT ES. 

